One Of The Twins
by GashouseGables
Summary: Solomon Finau travels with his wife Rebecca to her estranged family in La Push, Washington. Side characters galore! Black family-centric


TW for light Cullen bashing? They aren't a sympathetic type of coloniser from the outside.

* * *

Solomon was back from swimming with his twelve-year-old sister, who complained about her fear of TSS the entire time, as this was the first time she'd gone swimming while on her menses.

He only took her because their mother claimed it would be good for her cramps; and no one else wanted to put up with her moping around the house. She had even demanded a day off school to properly adjust to the change.

"I probably synced up with Becky!" His sister, Amber, claimed eagerly. Solomon shook his head as Amber went to the Main House, where her room was. Solomon didn't bother telling her that Becky had the bar.

He went to their little Hut, about seven metres from the house - they always stayed there when visiting his family. Solomon was glad to see Rebecca now; lounging on the couch in front of the television. They were back in Samoa until the start of competition season, and she was using the time to procrastinate on her new piece. It was an oil painting of Lēʻah; she was almost finished. They would have to go back to Hawaii for her to complete it.

"Hey, how'd Amber go? Does she have toxic shock now?" Becky asked, sounding a little amused.

Solomon shrugged, rubbing a towel through his hair as he joined her on the couch; sitting right on her feet and not helping her wiggle them out from under him. "We'll know by tomorrow, surely." He mutters.

She huffed out a small laugh. "You got plans the next two weeks?" She asked him.

Solomon frowned a little. He had nothing to do but surf and fish and help his uncle who owned the corner store. His wife knew that. "What are we doing?" He asks her instead.

She doesn't look away from the television. "My dad called me. He wants me to come home for mom's birthday." She said quietly.

Solomon stared at her. Becky was always in touch with her family at home; every two or three days she was Skyping with her sister, every Wednesday night she spoke with her father.

Solomon would be put on the phone; he'd ask what fish Billy Black had caught; Billy would ask him about his contests.

Sometimes he would speak with her little brother, Jacob. Solomon would tell Jake to come to them in the summer break from school, and he'd teach him how to _really_ surf. Jake would consider it, and this year, Solomon had been sure he would agree.

But Rebecca had only a text one Wednesday night; her father was too busy to call, Jacob had mono and was not doing well. Rebecca had been really worried; but Solomon had taken it much lighter; he wanted to know who was Jake kissing? But after Jacob was recovered, he shot down even the suggestion of coming to Hawaii in summer.

Rebecca had been disappointed, and Solomon hurt for her too. She loved her little brother; the photo of her mother she carried in her wallet was one with Sarah Black and her chubby seven-month-old son.

"Will we go?" He asked. He'd only met her family in person once; the night before Rebecca was going to move with him. They had dinner, told her they would miss her, told him to take care of their girl. Solomon still wasn't sure if the family was fond of him. Billy had been unhappy, and Rachel was quiet. Solomon knew they would really miss her. But Rebecca never wavered in her decision to come with him, and he'd always been surprised and in love with her loyalty.

"I need to go home." She acknowledged, but didn't say anything else.

Solomon excused himself to tell his parents about their upcoming trip. He had been given a long list of items that Amber wanted from the mainland.

* * *

They went by boat; it was longer - but it seemed that Rebecca was intent to dither. Plus Solomon's uncle was the captain and they got a discount. Solomon had bought gifts so his in-laws would like him; a sensible aloha shirt for Jacob, a new fishing rod for Billy and some Leahlani products for Rachel.

Rebecca had told him not to bother; her family would just be happy he brought her back. But that had only prompted Solomon to wrap the gifts nicely.

She was quiet and listless on the trip; looking out at the ocean and sighing a lot. Solomon tip-toed around his wife for four days until they reach Seattle. They took a greyhound to Port Angeles; though Solomon had some trouble with how his surfboard was handled.

By the time they reach the Port, it was at least 30 minutes after they said they'd be there. Solomon was annoyed to be so late, but it seemed Rebecca wasn't bothered.

She texted on her phone for a while as they stood on the platform, and finally led him down two blocks, to a small shopping mall.

"Paul Lahote is with them." Rebecca told him, though it seemed curious to her.

"Who is that?" Solomon asked her.

"A boy in Jake's grade. I didn't think they were close." She muttered, glancing down at her phone again. "He was angry when he first moved here, after his parents split; his dad is a long-haul trucker." She added. "He's too young." She said with a frown.

Solomon was confused by what she'd said, but they'd been travelling for so long, he was tired and he wasn't going to ask.

Jake and Rachel sat on the hood of a big silver car, with a young man Solomon guessed was Paul standing next to Billy, ladened with shopping bags.

"Becky!" Jacob yelled, and jumped off the car to run to her.

"Shit," Solomon muttered, because Jake got _big_. He should be seventeen; but he was as broad as Solomon, and even taller. Jake was also jacked, and Solomon was genuinely surprised at the change; Solomon had remembered the skinny thirteen-year-old, and the man standing in front of him was a stranger.

Jacob wrapped his sister into a tight hug, which she returns just as fiercely. "I missed you." He said into her hair.

"Yeah." She whispers, her voice cracking at the end.

Rachel jogs up at a slower pace, but she doesn't hug her sister; she takes the bags she dropped for the hug. Solomon wasn't surprised; Rachel and Rebecca never touched, except maybe to shove each other mockingly. He was surprised that Jake was so tactile. She got antsy if she went more than four days without speaking to her sister; but they had not so much as greet each other again. And they wouldn't; one thing Solomon realized about the twins, to each other they said goodbye and never hello.

"C'mon, Paul, grab these!" Rachel called to him. Paul scrambled into the car to unload the cloth bags, before running over. He was large too; his hair shorn close to his head. Solomon didn't personally enjoy short hair.

"Oh," Rebecca tone was faux-interested, "he carries things too?" She asks Jacob, still frowning.

"Yeah," Jacob nods, grinning, "he keeps eating all the food so he has to carry the groceries." He said, his tone whiny as his sister laughs. Rachel and Paul don't hear them; busy packing everything into the back of the car. Jacob reached over his sister and hits Solomon's arm. "Hi Solomon!" He chirps, and Solomon rearranges his luggage just a little to tap the boy's fist with his own. "You're going to take us surfing, are you?" He asks, eyeing the board on his back.

Solomon nods firmly. "Yes I will." He says seriously. "You and your friends, Quilt and Ember, and Paul too?" He offers.

Jacob laughed loudly. "It's Quil and Embry," he chuckles, and Solomon shrugs. They had the weirdest little names; but several times it was those two boys at Jake's house on a Wednesday night; yelling in the background. Solomon had gotten used to Jacob scolding them on the phone, "I can't really hang out with Embry anymore." He adds, and something in the boy's tone seems wistful. But teenage friendships can be challenging and drifting apart wasn't uncommon, so Solomon says nothing.

"Paul can't come because he _sucks_." Jacob adds heatedly, kicking at the man's back as they make it to the car.

"What?" Paul asks, his voice deeper than a seventeen-year-olds usually was. "I don't know why you're mad; you didn't even write your name on those corn chips." He said with a shrug. Rachel snaps at them both to stop fighting.

Billy had stayed by the car, in his wheelchair. Solomon feels a little uncomfortable seeing it; three years ago, Billy had been able to manage a cane on good days. It had upset Rebecca deeply when, during a phone call, Jake had revealed their father had lost all mobility in his legs. "Billy, it's good to see you again." Solomon told him, clasping the man's hand firmly. Billy repeats him, and Rebecca leans down to hug her father tightly.

Jacob ushers Solomon into the car, and Solomon was impressed; it had been converted for Billy to drive. Jacob climbed in after him, obviously intent to give the father-daughter reunion privacy.

The window was down, and he heard his wife sniffle a little. "I'm back, dad." She said, her voice wobbly.

Billy looked at his daughter tenderly. "You got a haircut," He said softly; running his fingers through the ends of her hair. It only came just past her shoulders now.

"Yeah, I wanted to feel fresh." She whispers.

"It looks good." He replied, and Rebecca climbed into the car, cuddling up against Solomon's side and wiping under her eyes. He wrapped an arm around her tightly, and gave her a squeeze.

* * *

When they got home, a very cheerful woman called Mrs Clearwater, or Auntie Sue, came around to greet them. Rebecca hugged her tightly, and her Uncle Harry. Their children; an eager boy called Seth and their quiet, stern-looking daughter, Leah.

Seth asked Solomon a lot of questions about surfing; and Jake teased him; saying he wasn't allowed to go in the water because it was so cold this time of year, and bad for his asthma.

"I can just come and watch you guys!" Seth protested, obviously trying to hang out with the big boys. Jake ribbed him, and scuffled with him in a headlock. Solomon laughed, glancing over to his wife.

"It's been shitty with you gone," Leah told Rebecca, her voice sad and quiet. Rebecca hugged her, swaying with her a little.

"I'm so sorry, Lee. Sam's an idiot." She told her, rubbing a hand down her back.

The Clearwater's left soon after, and another car pulled up.

"Auntie Connie!" Rebecca called.

Connie Littlesea was Billy's little sister, and a nurse at the tribal clinic, where her husband was the GP. Their son, a boy younger than Seth, Colin, was shy, and had to be prompted by everyone to finally and fleetingly shake Solomon's hand.

"_Aloha_." Colin muttered while burying into his mother's side. Jake clapped while Solomon repeated the word back to him cheerfully.

The Littleseas stayed for dinner; fish-fry. They cooked it in a grate in the backyard, sitting on plastic chairs, as there wasn't enough room in the house for everyone. Colin warmed up to Solomon eventually; sitting next to Jacob on the porch steps and asking if he'd ever seen a shark.

"I've seen plenty," Solomon confirmed.

"My friend Bradley said you have to punch them on the nose to fight them." Colin recited dutifully, bright black eyes inquisitive.

Jacob snorted, and Solomon chuckled. "No, I've never had to do that!" He replied. "Sharks and I have an understanding." He added with a wink.

Colin nodded solemnly, but Jake had to stop eating as his shoulders shook with laughter, lips pressed firmly together so as not to spray food everywhere. Solomon was genuinely impressed over the amount of food Paul and Jake ate between them. No one else seemed to be surprised, except Rebecca.

"Jake, what the fuck?" She asked her brother as he sat to scarf down a third helping. Jake shrugged one shoulder.

"Don't bother him while he eats," Billy scolded, "he's still growing." At that, something made Rachel and Billy both laugh.

Rebecca frowns a little, as though she was mulling over a thought she didn't like.

"He's going to get even bigger," Solomon nods, looking at Jake next to him, who doesn't spare him a glance. "He's got hollow legs." He adds, and at that, Jake gives a muffled hum of a laugh.

The Littleseas left after dinner, and Solomon brought out the presents. Billy was impressed with the fishing rod; and Solomon was glad, because it had cost him quite a bit. Jacob immediately wore his shirt, flinging the tshirt he was wearing before into Paul's face. Paul grumbled that it was inside out; until Solomon explained that was the style. Rachel thanked him for the cosmetics, reading the labels with interest.

Jacob was lying spread eagle on the floor and took up most of the small living room. "Rach wants a picnic with mom tomorrow." He said to the ceiling.

A strange atmosphere comes over the room, and for a moment, Solomon envied Paul, who, at Rachel's nod, says a general goodbye and leaves quickly.

Rebecca nods without looking at anyone.

"Solomon can take dad fishing." She said quietly. Solomon didn't really want to do that; he assumed that Billy would go with his children. But Rebecca levels him with a look, and Solomon nods quickly.

"Of course; I need to see what the Pacific NorthWest has got to offer." Solomon said quickly, glancing over at Billy, who nods once.

They go to bed soon after that, and Rebecca shows Solomon the room she used to share with her sister. Two single loft beds on opposite sides of the room; with desks underneath them. But dusty and still messy with old schoolbooks and empty water bottles and posters of early 2000 movies on the walls. Neither girl had been living here for a while; there were a few boxes in the corner with 'OLD CLOTHES JAKE' written on them.

"But you two get the leaky air mattress in the living room." Rachel simpers at them both with a bright smile.

Solomon fiddles with the reverse-suction on the ancient vacuum, and glances around the house. There were quite a few photos of the three Black children; the two girls on either side of their little brother. Hugging him and smiling while he holds a certificate. Grinning on the front porch. Showing off little fish on hooks with blue zinc on their lips. Billy slept on the first floor, and double-checks on how they were settling in before he goes to bed.

Rebecca gives him another long hug, and Solomon glances into the man's room. A low double bed; some handles drilled into the wall to help him up. And many, many more photos. Yes, this was a man that loved his children.

With Solomon kneeling with the vacuum, Billy clasps his shoulder as he rolls past. "Harry will drive us out to his boat; little tinny thing." Billy tells him gruffly. Solomon nods, and Billy goes to his room.

"Is it good to be home, baby?" He asks his wife.

She shrugs once. "We'll see how tomorrow goes." She replies. He tucks the vacuum away as she spread the bed sheets over the mattress and they settled in.

* * *

Solomon wakes up with his back on the floor as the mattress had leaked out all the air. He hadn't slept very well at all; unfamiliar places did that to him. The sun was not up yet; but he could tell by the grey in the horizon that it would be soon. But now Billy was at the foot of the mattress, looking vaguely amused.

"Time to go." He tells him, before wheeling to the kitchen.

Solomon grunts as he struggles to sit up, ignoring the crink in his neck. It was a small price to pay to see his wife's home. Rebecca was still lying next to him, and he leans over to kiss her hair.

He goes to the kitchen, seeing Billy brewing black coffee with three thermos set out, and goes back to change into his clothes. He's trying to quietly dig around his suitcase when Rebecca speaks, her back to him in bed; "If Charlie's there, tell him I miss him." She says, her voice quiet but not necessarily sleepy. She must have been awake for awhile. Solomon remembered Charlie; he knew _his_ family would not be so welcoming of a police officer.

He pulls out swim trunks and his bait vest. "... Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you?" He asks quietly, setting the clothes aside to lean over her. She was staring at the wall, and shakes her head slightly.

"No, you'll just be in the way." She replied. He's not hurt by the words, but he _does_ wish to pay his respects to his mother-in-law. He hadn't told her; but his own mother had made a lei of white flowers he'd brought, to let the woman know her daughter was far away but taken care of.

"Why doesn't he come with you?" Solomon asked her quietly, nodding to the kitchen where Billy was, though she wasn't looking at him.

"We don't like it; he spends a lot of time there already." She replied quietly. Solomon frowned. He certainly didn't like thinking of Billy, sitting by a tombstone alone. He was sure his children would hate it too.

He leans over and kisses her lips gently. "I love you, baby." He says softly. "Call me if you need me." He murmurs.

She doesn't answer, or say anything at all, until her father calls out a goodbye at the door, and she raises a hand and waves vaguely.

Solomon wasn't happy leaving her like this. But, at least, she had her sister and her brother.

It was quiet as Rachel and Rebecca cut up some sandwiches. Rebecca made four; enough for a picnic, but Rachel makes a dismissive noise.

Rebecca clicks her tongue. "What? Is fucking Paul coming?" She snaps. She wasn't in the mood for her sister's infant tastes, not today.

"Jake needs about seven." Rachel says, her tone harsh.

Seven was a bit much; but Rebecca had seen how he'd eaten half of the fish-fry. After snacking the whole car ride home.

She makes a few more, before Jake stumbled into the kitchen.

"Did dad take all the coffee?" He groans, eyes squinting at them both.

"You shouldn't drink it, farts mcgee." Rebecca tells him.

Jake just scoffs. "Why? Will it stunt my growth?" He asks mockingly, his arms spread out to gesture to his long, thick frame.

Rebecca purses her lips; her brother had grown so much since she'd been gone. "No, you'll get yellow teeth." She replied tersely.

Jacob makes a face, but he does excuse himself to brush his teeth.

"Paul's a good guy." Rachel tells her.

Rebecca feels a flash of irritation; Rachel immediately disagreed with her marriage, and it took a month after until she even congratulated her.

"I didn't ask, cradle-snatcher." She replied.

The insult, as always, roll off her back. 'One of the Black twins could stab the other, and she'd forgive her in a week' was what a lot of their friends used to say. "Whatever." Rachel shrugged. "You better get used to him. Paul's going to come to Washington with me, after high school." She adds.

It lingers in the air; neither of them were ever going to stay. They both knew that, it made them both a little guilty. But the guilt was old and constant, as it was concrete. It was too hard to stay in La Push. There were too many memories of her; they had enough time with their mother to remember what the house was like with her … and without her.

"I'm ready!" Jake calls as he walks back into the kitchen, hair brushed and loose around his shoulders. He took the box of cereal from the shelf, and starts stuffing dry handfuls into his mouth. "Who's driving?" He asks, spraying crumbs as he speaks.

Rebecca hits him on the arm for being gross. "You can." She tells him as she packs the last of the sandwiches into her huge handbag. Rachel takes a bottle of orange juice from the fridge and some grapes.

"Yeah," Jacob muttered, grabbing the keys to his Rabbit and stuffing them into his pocket, ''cuz neither of you remember the way." His tone was just a touch resentful, and both twins pause as he heads out the door. They exchange a look before following him.

Their little brother wasn't leaving. It was so unlikely; he loved their father all the more for being his main parent growing up. He didn't remember their mother as clearly - though he did love her, it was mostly photos and the stories other people told him. La Push was his home; more than the place their mother wasn't.

They all climb into the car; Rebecca climbs into the tiny backseat with their supplies. Like most hurts, Jake doesn't keep it for long. He puts on a UB40 song and hum-sings along with it as he drives them to the cemetery.

"Dad wants grandbabies." He says suddenly when they hit a red light.

Rebecca laughs, and Rachel slaps his arm. "Shut up!" Rachel snapped.

"Not from _you_," Jake said with a teasing sneer. "I'm gonna be so mad if you have Paul's spawn." He muttered, and he seemed to mean it. Rebecca sends her twin a look, and Rachel flips her off. "Solomon's cool; I love my new shirt." Jake tells her, glancing at her through the rearview mirror.

"Good; I didn't even want to get you anything." Rebecca tells him, and she was teasing, though she was also mostly telling the truth, but they laugh anyway. "You should come to Hawaii after school. His little sister is so funny, and his parents are nice." She tells her brother. "They'd all love to meet you." She adds.

"Yeah, maybe." Jacob said instantly, beeping his horn as they pass Quil's house, and slowing down, though Quil doesn't come out and Jake drives off, unbothered. "You think they'll bring back enough fish for dinner?" He asks. "I'm starving." He said with a whine.

Rebecca grabs the cereal box Jake shoved next to the gearstick, to grab out a handful for herself. But it was just the dust at the bottom; Jake had already eaten it all. "Literally _how_?" She asks in wonder, as she shakes the box, mystified. Jacob and Rachel fall into laughter, but they share a look Rebecca isn't privy to, though she does catch it.

She frowns, and throws the box down, looking out the window as they pull up to the tiny cemetery. She kept feeling like they knew something she didn't; which was hardly fair. Rachel stayed away just like Rebecca did; she'd only returned less than a month ago.

They sit in the car for a while after Jake turns the engine off. Stalling, preparing themselves.

"Let's go." Jake decides finally in the silence, and he climbs out the car without helping to grab any of their picnic supplies.

"Brat." Rachel muttered as she wedges her torso in between the seats to take a few things off of Rebecca. She pops the seat down and Rebecca climbs out too.

They make the trek to the tombstone in silence. Rachel spreads out the rug Jake kept in the back of his Rabbit, musty and faded, and they set their things down. They sit on top of her grave; where she'd lying right below them.

'Sarah Black Mother, Wife, Daughter, Sister'

Rebecca has two bites of a sandwich before she can't eat anything more. Rachel has a handful of grapes. Jake eats nearly the rest of the supplies, but saves a full sandwich for them to share.

"Dad's really happy you're both home." Jake says after a while. Neither of them can answer him. "You should come back more." He adds.

Rebecca leans over and rubs his arm, but she can't look at his sad eyes. When did he get so big and grown up?

"Are you with Sam tonight?" Rachel asks. Rebecca frowns at the mention of him; Uley was going to be on her shitlist for a while. Who left Leah for her own _cousin _but a piece of shit? Like father, like son, it seemed - and it was a damn shame.

Jacob just nods. "Yeah, Paul and Quil too." He says.

Rebecca scoffs. "Why is everyone hanging out with _Sam_?" She asked archly. "We're on Leah's side." She added pointedly. Leah Clearwater was younger than her and Rach, but she was witty and her dry humour meant she spent a lot of time with the twins before they graduated. She wasn't happy her siblings were leaving their cousin in the dust.

Rachel looked pitying, for a moment. "Lee doesn't really understand." She explained, vaguely. "It sucks, for her." She agrees.

But Rebecca knew when her sister was being secretive. "_Of course_ it would." She replies pointedly, beginning to get suspicious and slightly annoyed at what was being kept from her. This _was_ her first home, after all. "What's been going on?" She asked sharply.

"I dunno, everything." Jake mumbled through a mouthful of bread.

"Charlie didn't come by." Rebecca continued, tone slightly accusing. "I thought his daughter moved up here?" She added, now digging for some sort of issue her siblings were hiding from her.

Rachel nodded, glancing sideways at Jake. "Yeah, dad's not happy with him." Rachel said. "The Cullens moved up here; he's glad there's a doctor at the hospital." At that, Rach raised her eyebrows.

Becky frowned. "Oh … _oh_." It took Becky a while to remember; some sort of silly old story that mom used to tell them. Cullens weren't allowed; they were dangerous. Becky always assumed they were the type of men in the man camps; dangerous as they all were. "Yeah, of course he'd side with them." Becky said with a shrug. Charlie might be their father's friend; but he was still a white cop.

But Rachel only rolled her eyes, "It's more complicated than _sides_, Becky." She explains, and her sister's tone irks her greatly. "Plus, Bella Swan is dating one of them. It sucks."

"Then tell me!" Rebecca snaps, annoyed. "I know I've been away, but so has Rach. What's been going on?"

"It's just the usual drama." Rachel disagreed, shaking her head and shoving their younger brother's shoulder lightly. "Jake had a crush on Bella-"

At that, Jake jerks his head up, scowling and embarrassed; "I didn't!"

"But she wanted the ginger Cullen." Rachel continued blithely as Jake proves her point. "Charlie and Billy aren't speaking, you already knew that. Leah and Sam split, and I'm seeing how things work out with Paul. That's all." She listed it all off casually, but Rebecca knew her twin better than her husband. She'd spent the first 18 years of her life sleeping four feet away from each other. Solomon and her had only been married for two.

"You're lying." Becky says immediately.

Rachel hackle go up, and she glares, snapping; "I'm _not_ lying!"

"Well, you're not telling me everything!"

"There's nothing else to tell!"

The twins were about to get into the vicious rhythm of a real squabble between them, when Jake waved a huge hand in between them. Neither of them took it well, snapping at him to butt out.

"Stop it! You don't get to argue like always! Not when you're visiting!" Jake yells at them both. They both fall silent; because they were 'visiting'. They hadn't returned to their childhood home, they were only dropping by. There was a finality in the temporary that kept them both quiet. And they were here to visit their mom.

Jake sighed. "... _Happy birthday to you,_" he started sullenly, his gaze on their mother's grave and the twins joined him in the next line;

"_Happy birthday to you …._."

* * *

Solomon was sitting between Harry and Billy in comfortable silence. He had been worried it would be a sad, tense affair. But these men were friends since they were children, and now, older, with children of their own, there was an ease between them that Solomon himself was not old enough to have known before. It was something to look forward to.

He was loafing, mostly; sure it was too cold for the fish to bite. But it was beautiful here; foggy and damp and cool. The cliffs were in the distance, and Solomon could see a strange shape on an outcrop of rock between them and the shore.

"Is that a person?" He asks, confused. It was a bright white figure, definitely person-shaped.

Harry Clearwater frowned, squinting. "Where?" He asks.

"By the rock!" Solomon insisted. Pointing, it did indeed raise a hand. "A young man!" He shouts, he could just make out a tall frame and short red hair.

Billy scowls, and tugs his line back in. "... It's one of them." He spat, and Solomon jerks back physically in surprise. He'd never heard so much hatred and anger in the man's voice before. "Hold steady." Billy growls at Solomon, as Harry takes the motor and propels them to the man.

"... Alright." Solomon mutters carefully, but neither of the men are listening to him, and they both look very, very angry indeed.

"He's too close." Harry mutters, casting a dark look at the boy.

"As long as it isn't the shore, they seem to think it's fine." Billy said, his voice almost mocking, but much too serious for it. But, Solomon realised, they both seemed _nervous_.

It was a boy; though a very grave boy. He was angular and pointy in a way that white men were considered handsome; his face was too perfect, as though he had plastic surgery. Solomon couldn't stand fake little twinks like that. Rich and insipid.

He wasn't dressed for swimming, though he was fully drenched in water. He wore a pair of brown pants and a blue shirt with no shoes. He watched them approach with a tight, uncomfortable smile.

The tinny rears off near the rocks, and neither of the older men speak. Solomon doesn't want to sit in silence. "... Need help?" He asks the kid.

The kid shakes his head. "No. I wanted to pass on a hello to your daughter, Billy. Charlie had mentioned she was back in town, and he was hoping she'd come and visit." he said politely, looking at the silent man.

Solomon doesn't feel comfortable with his wife being spoken about by this really strange boy, but defers to his father-in-law and keeps his tongue.

"Is that so?" Is all Billy asks, his tone blank. Harry, though, is scowling fiercely.

"I'm Edward Cullen," the boy said, looking at Solomon, "it's nice to meet you." He adds pleasantly.

Solomon felt no need to cozy up to white boys, especially not ones that swam fully-clothed, and were so obviously not welcome. "Well, alright." Solomon told Edward. There was another beat of silence. "… Should you be here, little boy?" He asked him finally.

"I suppose not." Edward acknowledged, "I'll go." With that, the boy did something that, while expected, was still bizarre. He jumped into the water and swam. He had no boat or board; Solomon could have assumed he had swam there anyway. But he moved swiftly and quickly. Very, very quickly, not at all weighed down by his clothes.

"Fast swimmer." Solomon said. Harry coughed a little; and the tense spell was broken with the boy steadily disappearing. "Well, shall we cast again?" He offers to the men.

He ignores the shiver down his spine and they settle again. In the more comfortable quiet of the boat, though, he does think about how strange the water seemed on the boy. He had been dripping with it, but it was like water on oil; none of the rivets of water spread or stuck to his skin. Almost as though his skin wasn't even as porous as the rock he had sat on. A very fake young man.

* * *

Becky looked down at Paul, who was watching television in her little brother's favourite seat on the couch.

"Hey buddy," she began, her tone too stern to be casual, though he doesn't look up at her, he only grunts to show he was listening. "I'm gonna need you to go back to your home for once, while I have dinner with my family." She told him.

Paul looks up, a frown on his face. "Aw, c'mon I'm practically family too," Paul said unhappily, but the whine in his voice was belied by the genuine apprehensiveness in the eyes of a boy who didn't want to go home.

Becky though had just lay on her mother's grave while her siblings lied to her face, and so she wasn't in the mood to pity him.

"I frankly don't know what my sister sees in a kid the same age as our brother. Paul," Becky snapped, genuinely angry that he was yet another piece of some strange puzzle that had been assembled when her back was turned, "this is the last time I'm asking you nicely - go home; spend some time with your dad." She told him, and ignored how Paul flinched at the last word. "And let me spend some time with _my_ family." She adds.

Paul looked resentful in the face of her genuine anger, but he didn't protest. He slowly stood up from the couch and walk out the front door without a goodbye.

Becky watches him go, and ignored her husband's presence in the kitchen, watching her.

* * *

Solomon Finau spends a night with the Littleseas'. Connie comes to see her niece, and invites him for dinner. He agrees and pretends he does not see his wife thank her aunt. He wouldn't deny his love one meal with just her father and siblings.

But he looked at Colin, the young boy babbling about midnight surfing in this frigid cold, and does send her a helpless look as he leaves, which she smiles at.

Connie was sipping from a mug as Solomon comes into the kitchen, slightly out of breath after yelling at the video game with her son. He didn't have the time to brush up on his skills, and had been thoroughly beaten by a brat with barely any pubes.

"Coffee, Solomon?" The doctor offers pleasantly. Solomon nods with a smile and thanks her for the cup, wrapping his thick fingers around the warmth. "This chilly weather takes a bit of getting used to." Connie acknowledges, while also acknowledging that Solomon did not spend enough time here to know it.

Solomon nods and takes a considering sip. "Do you need creamer?" Connie asks him.

At that, he shakes his head. "I'm lactose intolerant." He admits to her easily.

"So are we," Connie agrees and they both laugh politely. "it was good of Becky to come back for her mother's birthday."

"Yes." He nods. "She was surprised Rachel asked but she didn't want to refuse her. She might feel left out now that her sister is back here." Solomon said with a gentle look on his face.

Connie looks at him sternly. "We were worried she was only running away with you to distance herself from the memories." She told him.

"She was." Solomon agrees easily, "she was so sad and worn down; I thought the sun and sand would do her good." He admits, "I was sad her father didn't let her leave until we got married. I think he wanted to scare me off. I can't say that I am sorry I didn't leave, though. Rebecca is my life; there were so many ways for her to leave her mother here. But she wore her hair loose with flowers and she married me." He smiled, more than content that he proved he was good for her; Rebecca coming back home with him by her side.

"She's changed a lot, for the better." Connie acknowledges. "She has a chance to miss this place when she's gone. She went across the ocean so happily, I was worried she would never want to come back. It hurt my brother badly; that both the twins left straight away." Connie tells him, looking a little wistful. "It's helped that they came back so easily."

"Rebecca is worried that her siblings are keeping things from her." Solomon told their aunt. Connie doesn't react at all. "She was worried that they wanted to punish her for leaving"

"She's been gone for some time." The woman said with a careful tone, inclining her head. "Things happen, but they love her." She adds.

But Solomon could see that. The twins were uncanny in how they moved around each other, from a childhood always together. They both doted on their little brother and their father. "They're good people." Solomon said, and at that, it almost seemed like Connie was preening. "Jacob is a very cheerful young man. I know so many boys who have much less grief and grow up much meaner." He said, but he pushed away the thoughts of his own home. "Rachel … I think I was surprised how twins are." He adds. The only twins he knew were the girls in his high school, a year ahead of him. They had had similar clothes but different haircuts. "I never really thought of them as a pair before." Solomon told her. "Becky has always been just mine, well, here she is one of the twins."

"Yes she is." Connie said, voice quiet. Perhaps reminiscent of a time when, before 'a wife' or 'eloped', 'one of the twins' was mostly what Becky was to her aunt.

"I thought perhaps I understood why she wanted to go." Solomon said. "When someone leaves so suddenly and without a goodbye, you must deal with the person-shaped hole in your house now, filled with their memories. It might blur with time, but it will be there so long as they are not. But loosing a parent, that I don't know." He admits. He felt far away from home, and he wasn't sure how long he'd be away. As long as Becky wished. "My brother was in jail, for life, no parole. He made bad choices but I was young and I just missed him all the time." He admitted, and Connie looks at him, but not shocked or uncomfortable by the information. She wasn't a stranger to people making bad choices. "But when he … killed himself, I thought with all that pain I couldn't stand to leave home, I clung to where we had been a family and happy." Solomon said. The memories still hurt; even though it had been over a decade. "But Becky, with that hurt she wanted to go far away, And I'm grateful and selfish that she came to me, so my home is filled with even more precious people that I love." He told her.

Connie hums, as though she was mulling over his words. "Well, I'm glad, then, that she left one home that loved her, for another." She said finally. It was quiet in the kitchen now, Colin was watching something with the volume low, and there wasn't much else outside. The silence makes him feel awkward.

"I hope I didn't overshare," He begins, nerves taking hold of his belly.

But Connie only shakes her head. "Please, you're a mystery here. I'd like to know more about the man who swept my niece away." Connie replied with a smile. "I'd also like to see some wedding photos." She adds.

Solomon grins, shuffling in the backpack he brought with him. A raincoat was stuffed in there; due to the constant drizzle. Though his brother-in-law did inform him it was very dorky to bring it with him, and the album. He thought a good way to curry favour with his in-laws would be some of the photos.

"Here, here." He pushed it to her, and she flips it open immediately.

"Oh, she's dressed like a Hawaiian," Connie says with a laugh.

"No - a Samoan!" Solomon argues, pointing out the differences in island regalia.

Solomon regaled her with the story; how Becky had been monopolised by his own little sister and mother; how he waited with his friends on the beach for a half-hour until the bride arrived. How he had tucked a few hibiscus behind his own ears, and plucked one out to spread the pollen over her nose.

The yellow dust was still sprinkled over her face in most of the photos of the reception, including a very impressive whole roast pig.

"You'll get married, here, too?" Connie offered, her tone wasn't open for debate. "It'll make it official." She adds.

Solomon remembered the Skype call Rebecca had made, after the reception, when they spent their honeymoon; one night in a resort. Billy, and Jacob Black crowded around a blurry, pixelated camera, while Becky told them about the ceremony. It was a three-way call, with Rachel in her dorm room in Washington. They all congratulated her, and she'd passed her laptop to Solomon; so he could explain how he cut his toe open on a seashell two days before.

But they hadn't been there; none of her family had. Couldn't afford the plane tickets, Becky had explained. But it was a few months after their wedding that she'd admitted that she didn't want them there; her father thought she was rushing into a mistake; her siblings would try and wheedle her into coming home. While her twin was too familiar to be able to sway her; for her little brother, she had told him, she might have wavered.

"I felt so guilty leaving Jake and dad to take care of each other alone. I knew I couldn't stand it if I'd seen him in person." She's told him, upset and sad. It had been late at night; when it was too hot to sleep.

Solomon hadn't understood her then. When he was hurting, he needed his family, and that now included her. He thought of how his family would not have welcomed him back so openly if he had run off to get married without them. She had stood up, among all his people, on that beach, and she'd been all alone.

To Solomon, it had felt like cheating. He emailed her father to get his permission; and while Becky was already living with him, Billy didn't reject him. But Solomon had known it wasn't a fair way to ask.

He could get married here, again. Her family had every right to see her as a bride. "I would like that," Solomon told her with a nod. He meant it too.

* * *

It had been a very small, quiet affair. Colin and Connie Littlesea came with them to the courthouse, but her husband had been too busy at the clinic. Billy Black drove his converted car; which he had only gotten his licence reinstated recently. Jacob squished into the backseat with him. Solomon had borrowed the boy's blazer, which fit him relatively well, swept his hair into a bun on top of his head. Paul had insisted on coming along; and he drove with the twins in his father's car.

Rebecca wore a bright red dress, and her sister wore a blue one.

"Because I'm sad," Rachel had explained, in the kitchen before they had left, "she's getting married on a day her face looks so puffy." Becky had shoved her sister, and they both laughed. Jake told them to stop jostling him as he ate a mixing bowl full of cereal with almond milk. Solomon hadn't understood the joke; Rebecca face was as slim as ever, but girls laughed and laughed.

Billy had to beg off walking her down the aisle. His knee was giving him too much trouble, it seemed wheeling himself along was making him uncomfortable too. Jacob was eager to do it, his chest puffed out as Colin quickly claimed being best man.

Solomon felt the emotion well up in his chest all over again; as his wife walks up to him, her brother at her side. She smiles, and reaches out, pressing a finger under his eye.

"Don't cry again," she tells him, and he shakes his head.

"I can't promise that!" He scoffs, his voice thick, and everyone laughs at him.

The Justice of the Peace leads them through the ceremony and he showers her face with several kisses at the end as everyone applauds.

Jake pulled Solomon into a surprisingly strong hug, which Solomon returned warmly. Rachel kept herself at her sister's side, and it was tranquil as they walked down the steps.

Jake was on his phone, but Paul smacks his arm and was staring at the bottom of the steps. Solomon followed his outraged gaze; Edward Cullen, dry and with shoes on, and a little brunette white girl. The girl waves at Jake when he looks at her, calling his name as they walk over.

"What the fuck." Paul says as Jake frowns, shoulders hunched. Even the twins look uneasy, and Solomon isn't happy that their arrival has ruined the mood.

"Bella, what are you doing here?" Jake asks her quietly. Solomon remembers the name brought up at some point, or perhaps he had seen a photograph. Bella Swan, the police chief's daughter.

Bella shrugged one shoulder, tucking some hair behind her ear. "Embry told me where you were." She explained quietly. Her demeanor seemed awkward and shy. "He wanted to give you this." Bella held out some sort of CD case or DVD.

Jake took it from her. "... Great, thank you." He said sullenly, and looked right at Edward. "You shouldn't have brought him."

"He-" Bella began, looking immediately angry, but Edward leaned down and whispered into her ear. Whatever was said seemed to calm her. "I just wanted to say hi to Rebecca again." She said steadily, looking over at Rebecca and smiling. Rebecca greets her nicely, but doesn't acknowledge the boy with her. Bella looked relieved at the congeniality, and holds up a little silver camera. "And dad wanted a picture, if I could?" She asks.

At that, Solomon beams. He wraps an arm around his wife and another around his brother-in-law. "Alright, smile," he agrees easily. Paul shuffles out of the frame and the four of them squeeze in tighter.

Edward takes a step back, giving Bella space as she takes the picture, and thanks them all. Paul mutters something about Billy, which makes Solomon look around for his father-in-law. Billy sat at the top of the ramp of the courthouse, scowling and watching them intently.

Rebecca grabs Rachel's arm and tugs. "I need to go to the bathroom, c'mon." She said, and both twins nearly march off quickly.

It left Jake, Edward, Bella and Solomon. "Solomon, congratulations." Edward Cullen extended his hand and offered it to Solomon. Solomon stared at it, and almost laughed at the ridiculousness of this situation.

"Sorry, I don't feel comfortable touching a corpse." He explains, a little incredulous that the boy would even entertain the idea. Edward grimaces, as though he wasn't shocked. All of the other teenagers look as though he'd just sprouted two heads; it was almost comical. But Edward had given himself away; as Bella had taken the picture, a small bit of sunlight peeked out of the clouds, and he had angled himself away from it. Solomon knew of them like he knew of cannibals and an ancient afterlife. Stories passed down - of the type of white that came with the others, that could not stand sunlight, or fire, that only took blood.

"Ah, thought I didn't know." He said, nudging Jake with a cheeky wink. Though Jake blinks at him with wide eyes.

Bella finds her voice first. "He-"

"Is dead." Solomon finishes for her. Out of everyone in this conversation; she was the most unnecessary. "I don't need you to remind me, young lady. I'd ask you to mind your own business." He told her sternly, waving her away, because he was furious. He felt a hot rush of protectiveness for his family, because that's what the Blacks were to him. He stepped in front of his little brother, knowing if it came down to it; he would have Edward go through him before he would let the teenager come to harm. He stepped up so he was toe to toe with Edward, who eyes him with something like apprehension. "You're not to come anywhere near my wife; as I already know you're not welcome near any of her family." He warned the thing softly. "If I can smell you and your kind around her, I'll make you regret not stepping into the fire yourself." He adds.

Edward's eyes narrow, and from this distance, Solomon can see how unnaturally black they were. "... You're not a wolf." The boy said quietly, and his gaze flicks over to Jake.

Solomon glances over at Jake too, who was looking between Solomon and up to where Paul and his father were. "Wolves, are they?" He muses, and shakes his head. He knew what he smelt like to other creatures, and he was relatively sure Edward did not. "No, you're right. Nothing you've ever seen before." He assures it. Edward looks as though he wanted to say something, but Solomon takes a step back, ready to wash his hands of this. He'd made himself clear; Rebecca and the Black family were not to be touched. "Now, run along and eat your meal." He adds, nodding towards Bella.

Edward looks angry. "She's not-"

"I don't care." Solomon snaps, because he honestly didn't. He was here to get married, to support his wife in her painful homecoming. He wasn't here to listen to whatever shit this thing wanted to sprout. "Don't mistake yourself, whatever deal you have doesn't include me." He says, because he had seen; Paul was on his phone, gesturing wildly. From here - he could hear the boy say 'treaty' and 'violation'. Billy had mentioned something about the shore. "The ties I have to these people are through my wife; and my only promise has been to keep her safe. Be careful," He told Edward, "police chief's daughter, they notice when she goes missing."

Bella gasps, and grabs Edward's arms. "Edward is-"

"Goodbye." Solomon all but growls at her. He wasn't going to waste words with a girl so intent on being food. Bella pales and takes a step back, and Solomon steps away as Edward pulls her along. Solomon blinks a few times, waiting for his pupils to go back to normal.

Jake looked wary as Solomon turns to him. "... What are you?" He asks quietly.

Solomon grins. "What are _you_?" He asks back, but he remembers Edward's word. "Wolves, oh, the mainland is full of surprises." He continues mildly.

Jake looks as though he wishes to say something, but the twins are walking back over, and his mouth shuts with an audible 'click' of his teeth. "Are they gone?" Becky asks, and sighs as Solomon nods. "Thank god, that white boy gives me the creeps. He looks like he straight-lines coke every weekend. Or he's a cannibal or something fucked up."

The car trip home is silent and tense. Solomon sits next to his wife, who drives her brother's car back to Forks.

They all have dinner at a diner, and the waitress brings them a complimentary cake with candles and congratulates them on their nuptials. She's some type of friend of Rachel's, and they hug and exclaim happily. Solomon cuts the cake; splitting his share in half and giving it to Paul and Jacob.

Both of them had been glaring at him, so he does it to make amends. They do eat it, but they don't look any happier. He doesn't mind it if bothers them. He was their older brother now, completely; he could tease a little.

But Rebecca talks to her father about her newest oil painting, and it takes his attention away. Solomon loved it when his wife talked about her art; she was passionate and as bright as the sun when she did. But more than him; Billy looked so pleased and gratified; as though he couldn't be any prouder of his daughter.

"I'm focusing on island landscapes at the moment," she explains through a mouthful of cake, "but I'll come and do the cliffs at La Push at christmas." She adds.

"You'll come back for Christmas?" Billy asks, already looking cheered, and she nods firmly.

"Yeah, I miss too much being far away." She says, glancing over at her sister. But Rachel was sipping her coffee and waiting for her waitress friend to finish bussing tables to talk to her again.

* * *

Solomon dived low, keeping an eye on Rebecca, bobbing along on the board.

He flicks his slitted eyes over the rocks; no pearls. It was an old joke between them; he was going to make her a pearl wedding ring. Currently; she wore her mother's old one; slightly scratched and steady on her hand.

He surfaced, his gills flushing the salt water out of his lungs as he breathed in air. He felt good to flush out his gills; the Hawaiian sea water was his favourite; home always soothed him the most.

Rebecca was looking into the distance, contemplative. She hadn't left her family glad; she was fixated on what they were keeping from her.

_"I'll not tell on you, so do me the courtesy of not asking." Solomon had told the young man, Sam, stoic like a boy acting beyond his years, when they had all come to see them off. As a pack, it seemed. Sam, their leader, wanted to know how he knew about the Cullens, and themselves - and what he was._

_It struck Solomon as a little sad, looking at this fierce group of boys. Because they were just teens - big and tough, but young. "Believe me when I tell you, in me you have an ally. It's not my place to say anything else. I will ask my elders, but it will take time." He had told him. They had not been happy, but there was nothing else to be done._

_At the very least, as the ship set sail - Jake did raise a hand to wave them off._

Solomon knew he himself was bad at secrets, though. He might tell her of her brother on a Wednesday, and tell Jacob himself on the phone.

"'Hey dad, I married a mermaid'." Rebecca said, smiling with mirth at him.

Solomon hummed, gripping onto the board and kicking his legs underneath it, pulling her through the water, feeling the webbing between his toes.

"Amber wants to take you out diving next time." Solomon tells her. Amber had been the first to show Rebecca who they were. Solomon had told her in words, of course. But he was worried she'd be put-off by a scaly man with gills and fins. Amber hadn't any of the same notions; and Rebecca had accepted his family just the same.

"I think dad knows, though." Rebecca admitted to him. Solomon smiled; he knew what Billy knew. The man just didn't know the details. She watches his expression shrewdly, before sighing again. "Keep your secrets, I don't need them." She snapped.

"I'm awful at keeping secrets from you!" Solomon told her, cheerful. "Today's Wednesday." He piped up.

Rebecca nods. "I think I'll call before dad can tonight." She decides. Solomon takes the board in a firmer grip, and starts kicking them to shore.

"C'mon, fish girl, let's eat some sweet potato, and you can finish your painting." Solomon tells her.

"_Aw_," Rebecca protested, slumping over in defeat as her husband laughs, his voice carrying through his gills like the rush of an ocean wave.


End file.
